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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Archdiocese of Mbarara Development Association (AMDA) on Friday night hosted an elegant partners’ appreciation dinner at Kabira Country Club, celebrating the success of the 2025 AMDA Caravan and recognizing the generosity of members and organizations that helped make it possible.
The evening brought together donors, clergy, corporate partners, and members of the Catholic fraternity for a night of thanksgiving, accountability, and renewed commitment to community transformation through faith and service.
AMDA Chairman Chris Gumisiriza described the event as both a celebration and a moment of reflection on the collective impact achieved through the annual caravan a signature outreach programme that takes professional services and development initiatives to rural communities across the Archdiocese of Mbarara.
“Annually, we have an activity we call the AMDA Caravan, in which we go back to our home parishes and offer services aimed at uplifting the welfare of our communities,” Gumisiriza said.
“We also hold medical camps where we treat thousands of people who would otherwise not access specialized services. This dinner is to say thank you to everyone who supported us and to seek continued partnership as we prepare for Nyabwina next year.”
According to Gumisiriza, AMDA raised close to Shs 500 million in cash and in-kind contributions from its members and partners this year, enabling a range of interventions from medical camps and health facility upgrades to community education and agricultural empowerment projects.
While praising the government’s investment in infrastructure, Gumisiriza noted that the most pressing need in many rural areas remains access to specialized medical care.
“We treated many patients with conditions that required specialized services such as heart and eye care,” he said.
“Much as government has done a lot in infrastructure, there is still a need to invest in human capital particularly in health workers who can deliver services to communities.”
This year’s caravan, hosted by Kibona and Nyamitanga Parishes in late August this year, left a visible mark on the community.
Parish coordinator David Mugisha said the outreach sparked both physical and social transformation, blending faith-based service with practical empowerment.
“The AMDA Caravan is a way for Catholics from the Archdiocese of Mbarara who live and work in Kampala to give back to their home parishes,” Mugisha explained.
“In Kibona the caravan empowered people with mindset change talks, modern farming demonstrations, and family development sessions.”
He said the caravan’s impact extended to education, health, and livelihoods.
“At Kibona Vocational School, AMDA built eight new bathrooms, renovated old facilities, and provided water tanks,” Mugisha said.
“We also established a health facility after AMDA challenged us to do so. They renovated an old parish hall into a clinic, donated 11 mattresses, a medical bed, and startup medical supplies. That support gave us a new foundation to serve our people.”
Beyond physical infrastructure, the caravan advanced AMDA’s green and economic empowerment agenda by distributing 5,000 coffee seedlings and 5,000 Hass avocado seedlings to local farmers an initiative Mugisha said would boost household incomes while promoting environmental conservation.
“Kibona now looks green,” he added. “We are hopeful these seedlings will not only generate income but also help us protect our environment for future generations.”
The caravan also addressed softer but equally critical areas of community resilience such as family relations, youth mentorship, and responsible inheritance planning.
Through public talks and counselling sessions, participants were encouraged to embrace family unity, education, and the importance of making wills.
Now in its 11th year, the AMDA Caravan has become a hallmark of faith-driven development an initiative where professionals from Kampala reconnect with their roots to share expertise, offer health services, and support education and livelihoods across the Archdiocese of Mbarara.
As AMDA shifts focus to the 2026 Caravan in Nyabwina Parish, Gumisiriza called for continued unity of purpose.
“We are building not just infrastructure, but stronger, healthier, and more hopeful communities,” he said.
“That is what AMDA stands for and it’s a mission we can only advance together.”
